Braking mechanism



June 1, 1937. J. BLEWETT BRAKING MECHANISM Filed Sept. 16, 1935 Patented June I 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to new and useful improvements in braking mechanism.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved braking mechanism which is particularly Figure 2 is an enlarged elevation of the braking mechanism and a portion of the drive wheel 5 for the picker roller shaft,

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the parts shown adapted for use in halting the rotation of the huller picker roller shaft of a cotton gin.

An important object of the invention is to pro virle an improved braking mechanism for the huller picker roller shaft of a cotton gin including a brake shoe which is mounted in fixed relation to the drive wheel of said shaft, whereby when the gin breast which carries the shaft and wheel is swung for any reason, said drive wheel moves into engagement with the shoe to halt 5 rotation of said shaft, thereby automatically stopping rotation of the picker roller when the breast is swung, whereby the ejection of cotton by the picker roller into the hull and seed conveyor is prevented when the breast is lifted.

Another object of the invention is to provide n improved braking mechanism for the huller picker roller shaft of a cotton gin, which includes a pivoted brake shoe located to be engaged by the drive wheel of said shaft, the pivotal mounting W of aid shoe permitting the latter to automatically ign itself so as to have its curved braking surrace complementary to the periphery of the wheel at all times, whereby an adjustment forwardly rearwardly of the picker roller shaft will not the drive wheel out of alignment with said 3 shoe, thereby assuring proper braking regardless of the position of the picker roller shaft.

Still another object ofthe invention is to provide a braking mechanism having a shoe arranged to engage the drive wheel of the picker roller shaft of a cotton gin, the shoe being mounted so as to be readily adjustable with relation to the periphery of the drive wheel, whereby the gin breast must be swung a predetermined distance before the brake shoe engages the wheel to stop rotation of the shaft.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved braking mechanism which is simple in construction and cheap in manufac- 45 ture, and which may be readily applied to any standard type of cotton gin without changing the structure thereof.

55 wherein:

BRAKING MECHANISM Application September 16, 1935, Serial No. 40,704

13 Claims. (Cl. 188-74) in Figure 2,

saws (not shown) The lower end of the gin side of the drive pulley tween the inner sides of pulley 2i which is moun l9 and 2|.

an angular slot IS in each the transverse picker roller shaft mounted in these slots in the usual way.

On the outer end of the picker roller shaft IS, an enlarged drive wheel or A suitable drivebelt l8 passes around the IT and the other end of tion over idle pulthis belt has a driving connec h the gin saw leys carried by the gin frame If! wit shaft M which is driven by any suitable driving mechanism (not shown), roller shaft I6 is rotated. The shaft vided with a small pulley the end wall of the gin breast l I. 29 passes around the pulley l9 and Figure 1 is a side elevation of a cotton gin, showing a braking mechanism constructed in accordance with the invention attached thereto,

Figure 4 is a transverse, vertical, sectional view taken through the drive wheel and show mechanism in braking position, and,

Figure 5 is an isometric View of the brake shoe.

In the drawing, the numeral l0 designates the forward portion of an ordinary cotton gi gin may be constructed in the usual way and is provided with the usual gin breast H at its forward end. The breast is pivo at the upper end of the gin, breast is swung its lower en away from the gin proper.

are mounted within the gin on the transverse saw shaft l4. breast It is formed with of its side walls, and I6 is suitably ted at a point I3 hereby when said d moves outwardly The usual ginning transversely pulley I1 is mounted.

underwhereby the picker I5 is prol9 which is located be the drive wheel ll and An endless belt over a second ted on the outer end of a transverse shaft 22 which extends transversely through the gin breast l I above the picker roller. The shaft 22 carries the usual kicker roller (not shown) thereon. It is 0 drive belt I8 is being driven nism (not shown) the drive whe to revolve the picker roller shaft l6 which in turn revolves the picker roller (not shown). When the shaft [6 is rotated through the drive wheel ll, motion is also imparted to the kicker roller shaft 22 through the medium of the pulleys To keep the driving belt which connects these latter two pulleys taut at all times a spring-pressed idler roller 23 is pivoted on the outer end of the gin breast I I. All of the bvious that when the by the drive mechae1 I1 is rotated n. The

above parts which have been described are of the usual construction and are present in the ordinary cotton gin. Therefore, these parts are subject to variation, and form no particular part of the invention.

In carrying out the invention, a vertical bracket 25 is suitably fastened by bolts to the side of the frame proper of the cotton gin Hi. This bracket has its upper end extending upwardly in a plane above the upper edge of the drive wheel ii and has a horizontal arm 28 pivoted thereto. This arm extends forwardly from the bracket and is formed with an outwardly extending bearing collar 2? at its extreme outer end. The outer end of the collar 2? overlies the upper end of the drive wheel ii and a brake shoe 28 has its upper end pivoted a pin 29 to this outer end, as is clearly shown in Figure 3. The brake shoe is clearly shown in Figure 5 and is preferably made of a casting and is formed with an arcuate braking surface 125' at its lower end. The arc of the braking surface 28 is complementary to the curved outer periphery of the drive wheel H.

An inclined pin it" extends through the outer end of the pivoted arm 26 and this pin has its outer end screw-threaded to receive a thumb nut 38. The pin extends through the outer end of said arm and has its lower end secured to one end of a coil spring 3i which has its other end suitably fastened in the lower end of the bracket 25. It will be obvious by observing Figures 2 and 4, that the coil spring 3! exerts its pressure to pull the outer end of the pivoted arm 26 downwardly, whereby the arcuate braking surface 28" of the brake shoe 28 will be pulled into engagement with the periphery of the drive wheel H. The provision of the thumb nut 38 on the upper screw threaded end of the pin 29 provides a simple means for varying the tension which the spring may exert upon the outer end of said arm.

For limiting the downward swing of the arm 25, and the brake shoe 23 carried thereby, a ver- 'cal set screw 32 is threaded through the arm 26 nearer its inner end. The lower end of this set screw is arranged to engage a horizontal forwardly extending arm 33 which is preferably made integral with the bracket 25. A suitable lock nut 3 is threaded on the set screw 32, as is clearly shown in Figure 2. It will be obvious that by adjusting the set screw 32 that the downward movement of the pivoted arm 26 and the brake shoe pivoted to the outer end thereof is limited. By adjusting the screw 32 the arcuate braking surface 28 of the brake shoe 28 may be spaced a desired distance from the periphery of the drive wheel li. As shown in Figure 2 the set screw 32 has been adjusted so that there is a slight space between the periphery of said drive wheel and the underside of the arcuate braking surface 28'. If the set screw were tightened or screwed downwardly through the pivoted arm 26 a greater distance, then it would be obvious that the pivoted arm 26 would be raised, which would result in raising the brake shoe 28, whereby a greater space would be provided between the underside of the braking surface 28 of said shoe and the outer periphery of the drive wheel H. The adjustment on the set screw 32 may be accomplished quickly and easily by merely loosening the lock nut 3 .1. The tension which the spring exerts against the outer end of the pivoted arm 28 may be readily varied by adjusting the wing nut 35 on the upper threaded end of the pin 29 to which the upper end of the coil spring 3i is secured.

In operation, the set screw 32 is adjusted so that the arcuate braking surface 28 of the brake shoe 28 is spaced a slight distance from the outer periphery of the drive wheel il when the gin breast i! is swung to its inner or closed position as shown in full lines in Figure 1. In this position operation of the driving mechanism of the gin is accomplished in the usual way, with the driving mechanism (not shown) operating the drive belt 8 to rotate the drive wheel ll, whereby the picker roller (not shown) and the lncker roller (not shown) are operated. However, when the gin breast l i is swung to empty the contents of the roll box of said gin, or for any other reason, it is desirable to stop the rotation of the picker roller shaft it because it may be necessary for the operator to reach within the gin breast to clean said breast of trash or other extraneous matter. For this reason the picker roller should be halted. It will be seen that when the gin breast ii is swung, said breast will swing from its pivot point 3 at the upper end of the gin. Since the picker roller shaft it and drive wheel :7 secured to its outer end is mounted in the angular slot in the lower end of said breast, said shaft and drive wheel will swing with the breast in an arc as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 1. This wil cause the drive wheel ii to swing upwardly into engagement with the arcuate braking surface 28 of the brake shoe, as is shown in Figure 4. Since the brake shoe 228 is pivoted at its upper end to the bearing collar 21", it will be obvious that the braking surface 28 will readily engage the periphery of the drive wheel ll because the arcuate braking surface is on the same are as the periphery of said wheel. As soon as the brake shoe 28 engages the periphery of the Wheel, it will be seen that the rotation of said wheel will be stopped, which will halt the rotation of the picker roller shaft it. If the breast ii continues to swing outwardly after the periphery of the drive wheel i'i has engaged the arcuate braking surface 23, this engagement will not interfere with the further swinging of said gin breast because further movement of said breast will cause the pivoted arm 26 to be swung upwardly under tension of the spring 3i which will be expanded. This will only serve to increase the pressure of the arcuate braking surface 28 of the brake shoe against the periphery of the drive wheel I]. Therefore, it will be seen that the brake will not in any way interfere with the swinging of the breast ii.

Of course, as the breast ii is returned to its normal position the arm 26 will move downwardly as far as the set screw 32 will permit. Thus, the parts will be returned to their normal position, there being a slight space between the braking surface 28 of the brake shoe and the periphery of the drive wheel it. Therefore the operation of the gin can be continued in the usual way. It is noted that it is desirable to swing the breast ll outwardly for various reasons and in the course of a day when the gin is operating full time, the breast may be swung innumerable times. With the braking arrangement disclosed above, the braking of the picker roller shaft is automatically accomplished each time the breast is swung without interfering with the other operating parts of the gin, since upon swinging the breast the driving tension of belt i8 is released. The ginning saws and other operating parts of the gin it may continue to operate throughout the swinging of the gin breast H.

It is noted that the picker roller shaft may be adjusted forwardly and rearwardly of the gin by movement in the slot 15. This movement adjusts the picker roller with relation to the huller ribs (not shown) of the gin in the usual way. It is obvious that as said picker roller shaft is moved within the slot, the drive wheel I! will of course, be moved. The pivotal mounting of the brake shoe will permit said shoe to be swung with the movement of the drive wheel, whereby the braking surface 28' is always complementary to the periphery of said wheel. The pivotal connection of the shoe with its supporting arm provides for a self-alignment of the shoe when the drive wheel is moved due to an adjustment of the picker roller. This is one of the features of the invention.

The braking mechanism disclosed is simple in construction and cheap to manufacture. There are a minimum of parts and adjustments may be readily made. It is noted that after the set screw 32 has been adjusted a single time and the wing nut 30 has properly adjusted the tension of the spring 3|, the parts need no further attention. Of course, as the spring becomes weaker through wear or a greater braking pressure is desired on the periphery of the drive wheel, the wing nut 30 may be adjusted to increase the tension of the spring 3|. It is further noted that the set screw 32 may be adjusted so that the breast II will have to move a predetermined distance before the braking action takes place. This is obvious because if the screw 32 is adjusted so that there is a greater space between the underside of the arcuate braking surface 28 and the periphery of the drive wheel ll, then said drive wheel will have to move or swing a greater distance before the braking action takes place. Similarly, if the set screw is adjusted to reduce the space between the braking surface 28 and the periphery of said wheel then a slight move ment of said wheel or a slight swinging of the gin breast M will cause the brake shoe 28 to halt the rotation of the drive Wheel.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A braking mechanism for a cotton gin including, an immovable support secured to the fixed frame of said gin, an arm having one end pivoted to said support and extending adjacent the drive wheel of the picker roller shaft of said gin, said arm being located in a plane above said drive wheel, and a brake shoe carried by the outer end of said arm and arranged to be engaged by said drive wheel when the latter is moved due to the swinging of the breast of said gin which carries the picker roller.

2. A braking mechanism for the picker roller shaft of a cotton gin including, an immovable support secured to the fixed frame of said gin, an arm having one end pivoted to the support and extending forwardly therefrom, a brake shoe carried by the outer end of said arm and arranged to be engaged by the periphery of the drive wheel of said picker roller shaft when said wheel is moved upwardly due to the swinging of the breast of said gin, resilient means exerting its pressure to hold the shoe against the wheel when the same has moved into engagement therewith, and means for normally supporting the shoe out of engagement with the drive wheel.

3. A braking mechanism for the picker roller shaft of a cotton gin including, a support secured to the fixed frame of said gin, an arm having one end pivoted to the support and extending forwardly therefrom, a brake shoe carried by the outer end of said arm and arranged to be engaged by the periphery of the drive wheel of said picker roller shaft when said wheel is moved upwardly due to the swinging of the breast of said gin, and means for limiting the downward movement of the arm and brake shoe carried thereby, whereby when the gin breast is in its closed position the brake shoe is out of engagement with said drive wheel.

4. A braking mechanism for the picker roller shaft of a cotton gin including, a support secured to the fixed frame of said gin, an arm having one end pivoted to the support and extending forwardly therefrom, a brake shoe carried by the outer end of said arm and arranged to be engaged by the periphery of the drive wheel of said picker roller shaft when said wheel is moved upwardly due to the swinging of the breast of said gin, a stop for limiting the downward movement of the arm and brake shoe carried thereby, whereby when the gin breast is inv its closed position the brake shoe is out of engagement with said drive wheel, and resilient means for holding the arm against this stop.

5. A braking mechanism for the picker roller shaft of a cotton gin including, a support secured to the fixed frame of said gin, an arm having one end pivoted to the support and extending forwardly therefrom, a brake shoe carried by the outer end of said arm and arranged to be engaged by the periphery of the drive wheel of said picker roller shaft when said wheel is moved upwardly due to the swinging of the breast of said gin, and adjustable means for limiting the downward movement of the arm and brake shoe carried thereby, whereby the space between the brake shoe and the drive wheel may be varied so that the wheel will have to move a predetermined distance before engaging said brake shoe.

6. A braking mechanism for the picker roller shaft of a cotton gin including, a support secured to the fixed frame of said gin, an arm having one end pivoted to the support and extending forwardly therefrom, a brake shoe carried by the outer end of said arm and arranged to be engaged by the periphery of the drive wheel of said picker roller shaft when said wheel is moved upwardly due to the swinging of the breast of said gin, a stop for limiting the downward movement of the arm and brake shoe carried thereby, whereby when the gin breast is in its closed position the brake shoe is out of engagement with said wheel, a coil spring engaging the outer end of the arm and exerting its pressure to hold said arm against its stop, and means for varying the tension on the coil spring.

7. A braking mechanism for the picker roller shaft of a cotton gin including, a support secured to the fixed frame of said gin, an arm having one end pivoted to the support and extending forwardly therefrom, a brake shoe carried by the outer end of said arm and arranged to be engaged by the periphery of the drive wheel of said picker roller shaft when said wheel is moved upwardly due to the swinging of the breast of said gin, a projection at the upper end of the support and extending beneath the pivoted arm, a set screw threaded through said arm and having its lower end arranged to engage the projection whereby the downward movement of said arm and brake shoe carried thereby is limited, and resilient means for holding the arm in its downward position whereby the lower end of said set screw is held in engagement with the projection.

8. A braking mechanism for the picker roller shaft of a cotton gin including, a support secured to the fixed. frame of said gin, an arm having one end pivoted to the support and extending forwardly therefrom, a brake shoe carried by the outer end of said arm and arranged to be engaged by the periphery of the drive Wheel of said picker roller shaft when said wheel is moved upwardly due to the swinging of the breast of said gin, a projection at the upper end of the support and extending beneath the pivoted arm, a set screw threaded through said arm and having its lower end arranged to engage the projection whereby the downward movement of said arm and brake shoe carried thereby is limited, a coil spring having one end secured to the outer end of the pivoted arm and its other end secured to the lower end of said support, the spring exerting its tension to hold the lower end of the set screw against the projection, and means for varying the tension on said spring.

9. A braking mechanism for a cotton gin including, a support secured to the fixed frame of said gin, an arm having one end pivoted to said support and extending adjacent the drive wheel of the picker roller shaft of said gin, said arm being located in a plane above said drive wheel, and a brake shoe pivoted to the outer end of said arm and arranged to be engaged by said drive wheel when the latter is moved due to the swinging of the breast of the gin which carries the picker roller shaft, the pivotal mounting of said shoe permitting the same to be self-aligning with relation to the periphery of the drive wheel when the latter is moved due to the adjustment of the picker roller shaft with relation to the huller ribs of said gin.

10. A braking mechanism for a cotton gin including, a support secured to the fixed frame of said gin, an arm having one end pivoted to said support and extending adjacent the drive Wheel of the picker roller shaft of said gin, said arm being located in a plane above said drive wheel, a brake shoe pivoted to the outer end of said arm and arranged to be engaged by said drive wheel when the latter is moved due to the swinging of the breast of the gin which carries the picker roller shaft, the pivotal mounting of said shoe permitting the same to be self-aligning with relation to the periphery of the drive wheel when the latter is moved, and resilient means exerting its pressure to hold the shoe in engagement with the wheel when the latter has moved into contact therewith.

11. A braking mechanism for a cotton gin including, a support secured to the fixed frame of said gin, an arm having one end pivoted to said support and extending adjacent the drive wheel of the picker roller shaft of said gin, said arm being located in a plane above said drive wheel, a brake shoe pivoted to the outer end of said arm and arranged to be engaged by said drive Wheel when the latter is moved due to the swinging of the breast of the gin which carries the picker roller shaft, the pivotal mounting of said shoe permitting the same to be self-aligning with relation to the periphery of the drive wheel when the latter is moved, resilient means exerting its pressure to hold the shoe in engagement with the wheel when the latter has moved into contact therewith, and means for limiting the downward movement of said brake shoe and arm, whereby when the gin breast is in, a closed position, said shoe is out of engagement with said drive wheel.

12. In a cotton gin, the combination with a fixed frame member of the gin, a swinging breast pivotally connected'therewith, a gin saw with its shaft journaled in the fixed frame, picker rollers having their shafts drivingly connected with each other and journaled in said swinging breast,-

pulleys on said saw shaft and one of said picker roller shafts, idle pulleys above last pulleys and supported by the fixed gin frame, and a belt connecting said saw shaft and picker shaft pulleys and extending over the idle pulleys whereby the belt is tensio-ned for driving the picker rollers when the breast is in its lowered closed position, of a brake pivotally supported by the gin fixed frame and adapted to be engaged by the picker roller pulley to stop the rotation of the picker rolls when the breast is swung upwardly to open position and thereby releasing the tension on said driving belt.

13. A braking mechanism for a cotton gin including, a support adapted to be immovably fastened to the stationary frame of a cotton gin, a stop on said support, and a brake shoe carried by the support and arranged to move into braking engagement with the drive wheel of the picker roller shaft of said cotton gin to stop the rotation of said shaft when the breast of said gin is swung to an open position, said shoe being normally supported by said stop out of braking position.

JOHN BLEWETT. 

